If you’re reading this Sunday, I hope you’re feeling refreshed from an extra hour’s sleep. Every first Sunday morning in November, we turn our clocks back one hour as we transition from daylight savings time to standard time. I’ve seen numerous Facebook posts this week that have said something like, “I have no intentions of turning my clock back; I don’t want to have to relive a single hour of 2020.”
I get that sentiment. 2020 has been a tough year. Covid-19 has led to over 225,000 deaths in our country. Each individual death represents a precious person made in the image of God and dearly loved by family and friends. Racial and civil unrest has stoked anger and anxiety for millions. Our friends in Louisiana have been impacted by 7 tropical storms or hurricanes this year. There are few people who will want to turn back time when it comes to 2020.
For good or bad, we can’t really turn back time anyway. There are times when we wish we could go back and do something different, say something different (or say nothing). But life does not come with a replay button. So, we have two choices; learn from the past or live in the past.
The best thing we can do is leave our past at the feet of Jesus. In 1 John 1:8, the disciple whom Jesus loved said, “8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Jesus doesn’t have to turn back time. He transcends time, and He clears our past to prepare us for a glorious future.
So don’t try to turn back time. Turn time over to God.
-Mike Johnson